About this Abstract |
Meeting |
2023 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
Symposium
|
Characterization of Minerals, Metals and Materials
|
Presentation Title |
Characterization of Zircon and Rare Earth Bearing Minerals in Black Sands of a Gold Dredging Operation in Colombia |
Author(s) |
Gustavo Neira-Arenas, Animesh Jha, Lucia Ochoa-Correa |
On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Gustavo Neira-Arenas |
Abstract Scope |
The alluvial black sands in Colombia (S America) contain economically extractable concentrations of REE and other associated minerals, and could represent an attractive source of these critically important elements. In this work, an assessment of the composition and physical properties of black sands co-abundant with the alluvial gold in the North-East of Colombia is presented, under a perspective for the potential economic exploitation of the deposit by integrating with the current alluvial gold extraction. A combination of mineral characterisation techniques, namely, particle size distribution, physicochemical analysis, and mineralogical characterization by XRD and SEM-EDS are presented for reporting the presence of REE minerals in process streams and analysing their potential recovery. Light REE (La, Ce, Nd) were the identified recoverable elements, in the form of monazite, with only a minor presence of thorium. Other economically important minerals amenable for recovery as by products were also identified including zircon, ilmenite and magnetite. |
Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
Keywords |
Characterization, Extraction and Processing, Other |